Healthy Family Challenge
There are so many excuses and reasons not to do something. It is so much easier to sit on the couch, drive, take the elevator. We live in a society where obesity is perhaps becoming the "norm", activity is not encouraged and food is fast and wrapped.
I discovered last year that I really hate running but I love mud runs. I can do a 5K when it is a trail run with crazy obstacles. So I started training for them. I'd run and train in my "free" time. My resloution this year was to run one race a month. In February I decided to up the goal and run the TOUGH MUDDER this September. So I started really training. I run ~ everyday. I do p90x. It sucks and it is hard. With my son and Doug's schedule some days the best I can do is start at 8:30pm and I do it. I don't loose a single pound. Haven't since I started. But I can run farther and lift more then I could.
We bought a share at a community farm and participate in bountiful baskets. We eat right and healthy for the most part. I don't crave fast food very often. We have recently cut artifical colors and most sugar from our son's diet ~ which means from my diet too! That doesn't mean I give him crap with artifical sweetner, it means I don't give him any thing sweet. We don't buy diet anything. That junk is worse then the sugar. It doesn't mean I am perfect because lets face it SUGAR IS GREAT! My son gets cookies or candy every so often but he gets it less these days.
So we eat right. We exercise daily.
My sister, Shanna, decided in October to get healthy. She joined Weight Watchers. Through the holidays she stuck with her plan & points. Her family helped, supported and they all ate right. She changed the way she eats in dramatic ways. She just made lifetime membership! She lost 20+ pounds, looks awesome and feels great! She also walks 2+ miles a day. Through the heat and cold, she has hit the road!
My other sister, Sherry, got a new treadmill this year. She started running and ran two races this year including one a month ago with her husband and friends. She eats healthy. Packs a balanced lunch and snacks to take to her job every day. She has lost pounds and gained a ton of energy.
Somehow as far apart as we are, we jumped on board the health wagon and we didn't look back. The tough things we supported each other through. The last times we were together, there were more fruits and vegies then snacks and deserts. We exercised together. We talked about the struggles and successes we were having. We had fun!
And in September when I do the tough mudder with my husband, my sisters
will both be there to cheer us on and watch Espen. We will celebrate as
a family afterwards. And when the next one challenges herself, we will
support that. It is the best a family can do.
It is not a fad or a diet or a passing phase. It is not about the pounds lost. It is a lifestyle change. It is a goal to be here and healthy for the ones we love. It is a plan to challenge our bodies and find the right fit between what we eat and what we do. The excuses are still there. It is of course easier to sit on the couch. Feed our families fast food in the car. But we make a change and everyday we struggle to stick with it. We still eat cupcakes and ice cream. We grill steaks and hotdogs. We eat burgers and fries. We buy our kids popsicles. We are as normal as a family can get! But we do it... challenge yourself to do it.... because who else will take care of you?
I discovered last year that I really hate running but I love mud runs. I can do a 5K when it is a trail run with crazy obstacles. So I started training for them. I'd run and train in my "free" time. My resloution this year was to run one race a month. In February I decided to up the goal and run the TOUGH MUDDER this September. So I started really training. I run ~ everyday. I do p90x. It sucks and it is hard. With my son and Doug's schedule some days the best I can do is start at 8:30pm and I do it. I don't loose a single pound. Haven't since I started. But I can run farther and lift more then I could.
We bought a share at a community farm and participate in bountiful baskets. We eat right and healthy for the most part. I don't crave fast food very often. We have recently cut artifical colors and most sugar from our son's diet ~ which means from my diet too! That doesn't mean I give him crap with artifical sweetner, it means I don't give him any thing sweet. We don't buy diet anything. That junk is worse then the sugar. It doesn't mean I am perfect because lets face it SUGAR IS GREAT! My son gets cookies or candy every so often but he gets it less these days. So we eat right. We exercise daily.
My sister, Shanna, decided in October to get healthy. She joined Weight Watchers. Through the holidays she stuck with her plan & points. Her family helped, supported and they all ate right. She changed the way she eats in dramatic ways. She just made lifetime membership! She lost 20+ pounds, looks awesome and feels great! She also walks 2+ miles a day. Through the heat and cold, she has hit the road! My other sister, Sherry, got a new treadmill this year. She started running and ran two races this year including one a month ago with her husband and friends. She eats healthy. Packs a balanced lunch and snacks to take to her job every day. She has lost pounds and gained a ton of energy.
Somehow as far apart as we are, we jumped on board the health wagon and we didn't look back. The tough things we supported each other through. The last times we were together, there were more fruits and vegies then snacks and deserts. We exercised together. We talked about the struggles and successes we were having. We had fun!
And in September when I do the tough mudder with my husband, my sisters
will both be there to cheer us on and watch Espen. We will celebrate as
a family afterwards. And when the next one challenges herself, we will
support that. It is the best a family can do. It is not a fad or a diet or a passing phase. It is not about the pounds lost. It is a lifestyle change. It is a goal to be here and healthy for the ones we love. It is a plan to challenge our bodies and find the right fit between what we eat and what we do. The excuses are still there. It is of course easier to sit on the couch. Feed our families fast food in the car. But we make a change and everyday we struggle to stick with it. We still eat cupcakes and ice cream. We grill steaks and hotdogs. We eat burgers and fries. We buy our kids popsicles. We are as normal as a family can get! But we do it... challenge yourself to do it.... because who else will take care of you? 
Inspiring.
ReplyDelete